Medievalreader

Does anyone have any personal experience with the Institute of Medieval Studies at Leeds or the Centre for Medieval Studies at Durham? I am interested in early post-Roman England, and have been accepted into both taught MA programs. Leeds' manuscript library sounds very good, as does its association with the International Medieval Congress. However, I looked up the Guardian rankings and apparently Durham, in addition to being an older school, is ranked higher. Do rankings have an effect on admittance to good PhD programs in the UK? Or should I be only paying attention to which Uni has more professors which specialize in the fields I'm interested in? Also, an older acquaintance of mine says that I should wait to see whether I have been accepted to University of York before I make my decision. Should I wait? Thoughts on replying earlier versus later? I just got my acceptance letters within the last two weeks. Thanks!

To continue in the vein of the OT, does anyone have any personal experience with the Institute of Medieval Studies at Leeds or the Centre for Medieval Studies at Durham? I am interested in early post-Roman England, and have been accepted into both taught MA programs. Leeds' manuscript library sounds very good, as does its association with the International Medieval Congress. However, I looked up the Guardian rankings and apparently Durham, in addition to being an older school, is ranked higher. Do rankings have an effect on admittance to good PhD programs in the UK?